The sector - aged & community care

The services provided for older Australians fall under two broad categories - community care and residential aged care.

At present, about a million people aged 65 and over receive some form of subsidised care.

The majority of them prefer to live at home and access extra (community) care. Currently less than 10 per cent of over-65s live in an aged care or residential facility, but that figure can be expected to rise as the population ages over the next 40 years.

By 2050 it is estimated that about 8 per cent of the population - around 2.5 million people - will be receiving aged or community care.

Community and aged care workers make a valuable contribution to the daily lives of older people across Australia. In 2016, there were estimated to be over 360,000 employees in the aged care sector working in residential and community settings, and in a variety of direct-care and non-direct care occupations.

So it’s a huge industry and it is expanding rapidly. Australia’s community care workforce is expected to grow to over 800,000 by 2050, which means there are many, many opportunities for people to become involved. There is also a range of aged care qualifications, career development opportunities and skills training available.

You can find out what’s it like working in aged and community care in this video.